GhostOS – Lightweight, Offline Desktop AI Assistant (macOS/Win/Linux)

GhostOS-ai released GhostOS, an open-source offline desktop AI assistant for macOS, Windows and Linux that targets low-spec laptops and base Apple Silicon Macs with 4GB–8GB of RAM. GhostOS-ai says the app's native webview interface (WebKit, Edge WebView2, WebKitGTK) uses about 35MB of RAM, its Dynamic VRAM Juggler hot-swaps between LLM, vision and Whisper models in under 150ms with peak VRAM capped at 3.5GB, and its Zero-DB RAG indexes dropped files using SQLite FTS5 with no external database. GhostOS-ai positions the tool against Electron-based apps such as LM Studio, Jan and AnythingLLM, which it says consume 800MB–1.2GB of RAM on the UI alone, and claims zero telemetry and full air-gapped operation.

.---. / \ | | G H O S T O S \ - / The Invisible, Featherweight, Offline Desktop AI Copilot / ---'\ / \ 100% Private • Dynamic VRAM Juggler • Zero-DB RAG • Casper Pet /^\ /\ /^ 🌐 Language Select / Выбор языка / Тілді таңдау / 语言选择: English https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/README.md • Русский https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README RU.md • Қазақша https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README KK.md • 简体中文 https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README ZH.md • Español https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README ES.md • Deutsch https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README DE.md • Français https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README FR.md • 日本語 https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS/blob/main/docs/README JA.md • Português A unified, ultra-lightweight desktop AI companion that runs effortlessly on low-spec laptops and base Apple Silicon Macs 4GB–8GB RAM without Out-Of-Memory OOM crashes. Quickstart -quickstart • Features -exclusive-killer-features • Comparison -why-ghostos-vs-others • Architecture -architecture • CLI Cheatsheet -cli-cheatsheet • Privacy Pledge -100-paranoid-privacy-pledge Running local AI today is frustrating and bloated: - Electron RAM Bloat: Most local AI desktop apps LM Studio, Jan, AnythingLLM burn 800MB–1.2GB of RAM on the UI alone before a single neural weight is loaded into memory. - The Multi-Model OOM Trap: Trying to run an LLM 3GB + Vision model 2GB + Whisper 1GB simultaneously crashes any device with 4GB–8GB RAM. - Overcomplicated RAG Stacks: Document chat tools force users to install Docker containers, heavy vector databases Chroma/Qdrant , and gigabytes of bloated Python dependencies. GhostOS solves this from first principles: 1. Casper Companion Pet & HUD: Rendered via native system web engines WebKit on macOS, Edge WebView2 on Windows, WebKitGTK on Linux consuming just ~35MB RAM . 2. Dynamic VRAM Juggler: Dynamically hot-swaps between LLM, Vision, and Whisper on demand in <150ms. Peak VRAM never exceeds 3.5GB . 3. Zero-DB RAG: Drop files onto Casper — indexed in milliseconds using pure SQLite FTS5 with zero external database dependencies. 4. 100% Local & Private: Zero telemetries, zero cloud fallbacks. Fully functional air-gapped with Wi-Fi switched off. - A quiet, translucent porcelain ghost that floats gently over your workspace. - "Casper Eats Files": Drag & drop any PDF, code repository, notes, or spreadsheet directly onto Casper. Casper opens his mouth, swallows the file, and indexes it into your local knowledge base instantly +15 XP . - Visual Moods & Reactive States: - 💤 Idle : Weightless floating animation, 0% CPU footprint. - 🔮 Thinking : Ethereal sapphire aura, streaming local neural tokens. - 🎧 Listening : Casper wears glowing headphones, capturing offline meetings. - 🍕 Eating : Document suction animation with real-time XP gain. - ⚠️ Alarm : Visual security warning when a dangerous shell command is detected. - 💤 - Single-click for quick phrases & interactions; double-click or press Cmd+Shift+Space / Ctrl+Shift+Space to morph into the Spotlight HUD . - Highlight text anywhere Word, Telegram, browser, IDE, terminal $\rightarrow$ press hotkey$\rightarrow$ transform instantly: - ✨ polish : Professional, crisp, and concise rewrite. - 🤝 polite : Diplomatic, respectful business tone. - 📝 grammar : Fixes spelling and grammar mistakes with zero conversational fluff. - 🎯 summarize : Distills text down to 2-3 key takeaways. - 🌐 translate : Instant translation into English, Russian, Kazakh, Chinese, etc. - 🛠️ code fix : Automatically diagnoses and fixes bugs in code snippets. - ✨ - Use from CLI: ghost write --mode polite "draft message" or rewrite clipboard in 1 click - Local SQLite knowledge graph that permanently stores personal context across restarts. - Casper automatically remembers your developer stack, favorite languages, and active projects. - Injects personal context into queries with 0 KB extra VRAM and 0% background CPU footprint. - CLI: ghost vault list , ghost vault remember tech stack "Python, Rust, Apple Silicon" . - Deep safety inspection for shell commands before execution. - Intercepts and blocks destructive operations rm -rf / , mkfs , raw dd , DROP DATABASE , format C: . - Explains risks in plain human language and suggests safe alternatives before running. - Interactive audit: ghost sandbox "rm -rf /" . - Analyzes daily workspace file modifications, git diffs, and session commits. - Generates ready-to-share Daily Standup reports for Slack / Telegram "What I accomplished", "What I'm working on", "Blockers" . - Automatically crafts semantic Conventional Commits feat ... , fix ... , refactor ... . - CLI: ghost standup . - 100% private offline secretary for Zoom, Google Meet, and voice notes. - Generates structured markdown meeting minutes with Executive Overview , Key Decisions , and Action Items with Deadlines . - Whisper model hot-swaps in only for the 5-second transcription window and immediately frees VRAM. - Dynamically monitors battery state and system RAM pressure: - 🍃 ECO Mode: Triggers on battery or RAM 82%. Context capped at 1024 tokens, 2 CPU threads, 60s auto-sleep, 30 FPS pet. - ⚖️ Balanced Mode: Context 2048 tokens, 4 threads, 180s auto-sleep. - ⚡ Performance Beast: On AC power and free RAM 50%. Context 4096 tokens, full GPU acceleration. - 🍃 - Gamified companion that grows with your work: - Gain XP for feeding files +15 XP , running commands +25 XP , asking questions +10 XP . - Unlocks evolutions and visual accessories Cyberpunk Visor, Magic Spellbook, Golden Crown . | Feature | GhostOS 👻 | Jan.ai / LM Studio | Ollama | AnythingLLM | |---|---|---|---|---| | GUI Memory Footprint | ~35 MB Native Engine | ~850 MB Electron | None CLI only | ~1.1 GB Electron + DB | | Desktop Pet Companion | Yes Casper RPG | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Drag & Drop RAG Ingestion | Yes Drop onto Pet | ❌ Manual upload | ❌ Manual import | ❌ Manual upload | | Dynamic VRAM Swapping | Yes VRAM Juggler | ❌ OOM on low VRAM | ❌ Manual CLI | ❌ OOM on low VRAM | | KV-Cache Disk Freezer | Yes 0 MB idle VRAM | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Context Vacuum Pruning | Yes Saves 40-60% | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Adaptive Battery Profiles | Yes Chameleon Mode | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Inline AI Ghostwriter | Yes Any desktop app | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Terminal Sandbox Lens | Yes Safety protection | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | Daily Standup / Commit Crafter | Yes Built-in | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | | External DB Requirement | Zero SQLite FTS5 | Varies | None | Requires Vector DB / Chroma | | Cross-Platform macOS/Win/Linux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Works 100% Offline | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mostly | git clone https://github.com/GhostOS-ai/GhostOS.git cd GhostOS pip install -e . ghost pet Casper will float on your desktop. Drag any file onto him, or click him to open the HUD Instant question with zero setup ghost "Why does Python raise RecursionError and how to fix it?" Feed a document or source directory to Casper Zero-DB RAG ghost eat ~/Documents/my notes.txt ghost eat ./src/ Inline AI Ghostwriter rewrites clipboard or given text ghost write --mode polite "can you fix this asap" ghost write --mode grammar Long-term Memory Vault ghost vault remember tech stack "Python, Rust, Apple Silicon" ghost vault list Daily Standup Report & Semantic Commit Crafter ghost standup Terminal Sandbox Safety Lens ghost sandbox "rm -rf /" Search indexed knowledge ghost rag search "database migration" Inspect current active screen ghost screen Generate and safely run a terminal task ghost exec "find all files larger than 100MB" Check VRAM Juggler memory diagnostics ghost status | Shortcut | Action | |---|---| | Cmd + Shift + Space / Ctrl + Shift + Space | Toggle Spotlight HUD | | Click Ghost | Talk with Casper / Pet reaction | | Double Click Ghost | Open Quick Command HUD | | Escape | Minimize back to Floating Casper | | Enter | Submit query | | Drag & Drop File | Feed document to Casper Instant RAG | php flowchart TD User User Desktop -- |Drag & Drop File / Click| Pet "👻 Casper Floating Pet Native Engine " User -- |Hotkey Cmd+Shift+Space| HUD "🔮 Spotlight HUD / Command Bar" User -- |Terminal CLI| CLI "💻 ghost CLI rich " Pet -- Bridge "Python <- JS Bridge API" HUD -- Bridge CLI -- Core "GhostOS Core Engine" Bridge -- Core subgraph MemoryManagement "🧠 VRAM Juggler & Memory Chameleon" Core -- Juggler "Memory Juggler Dispatcher" Juggler -- |Hot-Swap <= 3.5GB| M1 "Qwen 2.5 / Llama 3.2 LLM " Juggler -- |Hot-Swap <= 2.0GB| M2 "Moondream2 / MiniCPM Vision " Juggler -- |Hot-Swap <= 0.6GB| M3 "Whisper Voice Copilot " end subgraph Storage "📂 Zero-DB Storage & Vault" Core -- RAG "SQLite FTS5 Knowledge Base" Core -- Vault "🧠 Memory Vault Long-Term Facts " RAG -- Docs "Local Notes / Code / PDFs" end subgraph OSIntegration "⚡ System Integration" Core -- Screen "Silent Screen Inspector" Core -- Pilot "Safe Terminal Autopilot" Core -- Lens "🛡️ Sandbox Lens" Core -- Writer "✍️ Ghostwriter Engine" end GhostOS is engineered with privacy as a foundational constraint: - Zero Telemetry: No analytics, no phone-home pings, no user tracking. - Zero Cloud Fallbacks: Every neural calculation runs locally on your device's CPU/GPU. - Air-Gapped Ready: Works with your Wi-Fi completely disabled. Contributions are warmly welcomed Feel free to submit issues, pull requests, or custom Casper skins. Run full unit test suite 44+ tests python3 -m unittest discover tests - Author: KIB.best https://kib.best - Email: GhostOS@kib.best mailto:GhostOS@kib.best - License: MIT License © 2026 KIB.best. Free for personal and commercial use.